2 Simple Chemistry Experiments For Kids

Chemistry is the section of science that’s focused on investigating the constituents of matter, the properties of matter and depicting the ways through which they change, combine and interact with one another.

So what’s the first thing that comes to a kid’s mind when they think of the term “chemistry”? Some bubbling fluids or an explosion. Anyway, we have listed two chemistry experiments [related to CO2 (Carbon Dioxide)] here for your reference that can be easily done anywhere with a few chemical compounds that should also be readily available in your household.

But before that, we would like to say a few things related to these 2 experiments mainly for the students who are fairly new to this subject.

CO2 is an invisible gas. The gas is odorless. We exhale CO2 during respiration. In these two experiments, we are mixing two common household components to create the same gas (CO2).

Experiment 1: Blow up a balloon

In this experiment, you will have to create CO2 by using a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. To be more specific, we should say we’ll be using-

One teaspoon of baking soda,

5 cups of vinegar.

Procedure

Step-1: At first you should pour the vinegar into a bottle having a small neck.

Step-2: Measure 1 teaspoon of baking soda and drop the same into the balloon. Try to ensure the fact that the baking soda falls into the larger portion of the balloon as much as possible.

Step-3: Stretch the balloon around the neck of the bottle that’s already filled with vinegar but do make sure that you hold the balloon in a tactical way through which you can retain a fair share of the baking soda in the balloon while you are fixing it around the neck of the bottle.

Step-4: Now hold the balloon upright, thereby allowing the baking soda to drip into the bottle slowly. The reaction will be quick. You’ll see the balloon getting inflated quickly. You should also see the formation of bubbles in the mixture as the gas is formed.

Final observation-

The balloon will inflate. As the gas (CO2) subsides, the balloon will also get smaller.

This hands-on experiment is an excellent way to actually “see” (just a figure of speech) the invisible gas being produced.

Experiment 2: Blowing out the candle

The same bottle of vinegar used in experiment 1 can be used to create more CO2 and blow out the candle which is the aim of this experiment.

Do remember again that during exhalation, CO2 is produced.

For this experiment, you’ll need:

5 cups of vinegar,

One teaspoonful of baking soda.

Procedure

Step 1: This first step is the most obvious one. Light the candle (Don’t forget to take the usual precautions while lighting the candle).

Step-2: Pour one teaspoonful of baking soda into the vinegar bottle. You can utilize the same vinegar from the previous experiment.

Step-3: When you see bubbles in the mixture, tip the bottle carefully over the flame as if you were pouring the liquid on the flame. Just a little tilt would do but make sure no liquid inside slips outside.

You would see the candle flame flicker and go out within the blink of an eye. CO2 is heavier than air, and it doesn’t support combustion. This simple hands-on experiment can be considered to be one of the best proofs of that statement.

So that should be all for now. Have fun with those experiments but do remember to be under adult supervision when you handle fire. With that, we’ll bring this article to a close. Hope you had a good read. Ciao!

Sudipto Das

Sudipto writes technical and educational content periodically for wizert.com and backs it up with extensive research and relevant examples. He's an avid reader and a tech enthusiast at the same time with a little bit of “Arsenal Football Club” thrown in as well. He's got a B.Tech in Electronics and Instrumentation.
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